Wilted roses, burn the heart
by XxMadDashxX
Summary: Ib visits the art gallery with her parents, but things go wrong after Ib carelessly touches one of the paintings, and is sent into another dimension!
1. Into the mural

"Ah, here we are Ib!" Ib's mother said, as they pulled up in the art gallery parking lot.  
"Yes, the famous Guertena does not disappoint! His artwork is amazing! I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time." Her father chimed in.  
Ib unbuckled her seat belt and got out of the car, listening to her parents small talk about how fun the art gallery would be. She glanced up at the gray sky, studying the clouds.

'Rain? But it was so sunny just a minute ago..' Ib thought. At least the air was lukewarm, and she felt excited to see the museum as well.

Her father opened the twin-doors for his wife and Ib. Immediately Ib felt a rush of cool air conditioning, and looked around the medium sized lobby. Pretty dark blue banners, with red lining and silver trimmings, dangled from poles just above the entrance. Ib looked around and took in her surroundings, stealing glances at the formally potted plants, and the fancy rug that lay in front of the reception desk. Her father and mother quickly approached the desk and began talking with the Receptionist. The receptionist motioned her right hand over a stack of pamphlets. Her mother took two and dipped her head in 'thanks' to the lady, as her father looked over some charts and a map. Ib raised her hand and gently gripped her mothers sleeve, tugged and said;

"Mom, i'm going to to go ahead, okay?" "Alright honey. Keep your voice low and do not bother the other guests." Her mother responded, smiling, though her eyes showed complete seriousness.  
"I won't." Ib replied, plainly. She walked away from the desk and went into the next room over. Ib looked around and gapped at the pretty paintings she saw. She rushed over to one and read its description out loud, but quiet enough so she would not disturb anyone.

" 'The lady in red... This piece of work was not actually based on a real lady, due to the fact Guenrtena never painted real people. Though rumors say this 'lady in red' was Guenrtenas' fair maiden..'...Huh, well, which ever "fact" is true, this painting is really pretty.."Ib mumbled.

She looked around and observed the other guests; an old lady with a walking cane, a child with red hair and pigtails, a frustrated mother trying to calm her crying baby, and what looked to be a college student studying a rainbow looking crystal tree. She looked over to her right and saw a light blue haired man, with darker blue streaks in his hair, and a torn, worn-down looking coat. She backed away from the painting and continued on, looking at all of the pretty pictures.

" 'Worry'... 'Bitter fruit'..." She began to say the titles of the pictures out loud.  
" 'The coughing man'..'Enlightenment'..." She stopped dead in her tracks and stared in horror at headless statues with dresses.

'What the..? What are those? They give me the creeps!' She thought, and moved closer cautiously, as if they would come alive and begin to chase her, looking them up and down with a 'What the..?' look on her face. She got strange looks from people around the artwork; So she turned and began walking back to the lobby, her face completely flushed. Ib looked around and noticed a staircase she over looked earlier. She began walking up the snow white stairs, counting them as she went. 'Aha! Exactly 20 stairs.' She smiled at her wonderful counting skills and continued her stroll, glancing at the sculptures in this area. Ib began to walk down an empty, narrow hallway with a massive painting on the left hand side. She looked up at it with eyes wide and mouth hanging open. She rushed over and looked at the beautiful art splayed over the canvas. But, what caught her eye was the amazingly detailed rose at the top of the entire thing. There was a small hint of morning dew on the petals and leaves of it, and it was a brilliant red. It had only five petals, but they were fluffed and curled at the edges, making it look huge and beautiful. She looked down and read the title out loud. Though she couldn't read the first word, the second one was perfectly clear.  
"Uh...Something...World...? What does that mean..?" She asked herself, and began to read the description.  
" 'If you leap into this new realm there will be no turning back, in order to return you will need to complete every task handed to you. Will you take the risk?' Huh? Is that some kind of..riddle?" Ib looked around.. No one..Good...She gently placed her small hand on the painting, feeling its cool touch made her shiver, and her eyes went wide as a small shock shook her. She jerked her hand away from the painting as the lights began to flicker. She began to panic but remained calm once the lights stayed on after the seventh flick. She looked around and quickly left the painting behind to return to the flurry of people on the oth-...

"W-What? Where did everyone go..? They must of w-went to the lobby to see why the lights flickered.." She mumbled. Ib quickly made her way down the stairs and looked with wide eyes, at the empty lobby. Her heart began to beat faster and she ran for the entrance doors as the lights finally shut off, and she was left in darkness. She slapped her hands on the handles to the twin doors and began yanking, only to hear the clinking of the locks, stubbornly holding the doors in place.  
"No!" Ib wailed. Ibs eyes began to desperately search the room again, as if the people who were in it would re-appear. Then an idea flashed across her mind..'That painting...All of this started when I touched it...maybe if I touch it again, everything will go back to normal!' Ib thought, and dashed back up to the second floor and into the hallway where the painting was. She tripped on the way there, but quickly regained herself. Ibs ears rung and her heart beat faster when she heard wet, floppy footsteps coming from all around. She took a moment to calm herself down, even she knew that to panic would solve nothing, and it wouldn't get her anywhere. Once she was finally able to stand without her legs shaking under her, she continued on.

"This sure is crazy.." Ib told herself.  
"But what I want to know is whats really going on..This all happened to fast for it to be some crazy prank."

She sighed, and searched the painting for any type of clue she could find. Unfortunately all she found was some blue paint smudged on the wall.  
"That wasn't there before.." The closer Ib got to the paint, the more words, that were somehow written in it, she could read. This was the first time Ib had ever been to an art gallery, and it was turning out to be the worst. What could have made this happen to her? Where were her parents? Why were the entrance doors suddenly locked? So many questions raced through her mind. So many questions that seemed impossible to answer. Ib began to read the text out loud.  
"Come down Ib...Come down below and play with us.." The words that came out of her mouth made her shiver. She wondered what 'Down below' Meant? Maybe..  
"Maybe I should go look around, I need more clues.." With that, Ib began to wander around aimlessly, walking up and down the staircase leading into the lobby, over looking all of her steps. Maybe the first floor had some clues for her? Ib shrugged and ventured forward into the first room she went into when she first arrived. She looked around and the first thing that caught her eye was the giant mural of the fish. The red ropes around the mural were scattered, and looked to be ripped up.  
"Ah..!" Ib ran over and looked at blue shoe-prints near the edge of the mural. She studied them closely for a long time, before noticing the mural was...wet?  
"Huh..? It's wet right here..." Ib set her hand down on the wet mural and, to her surprise, half of her arm fell in! She 'Eeeked!' in shock and tried to pull her arm away, but she was being sucked in.  
"Let me go!" She wailed, now her face hitting the mural. It wasn't paint..it was water! What was going on? Her heart beat fast as she was slowly dragged into the water. Bubbles escaped her mouth and she struggled for air, gripping her neck with her hands as her face turned a slight red. Things got fuzzy and she stopped struggling. Her body gently began to float to the bottom, her face calmed.

* * *

**Hi all! I really hope you enjoyed this, it took...so much thinking..x_x... Well, i could use a lot of help so, critics are encouraged! This is my first Ib story, and i really really hope you can help me improve where improvement is needed. Please and Thankies~**

**-I didn't slap you. I high fived your face. Sideways :-  
**


	2. Hide and seek?

**Hello everyone! This is my second chapter of Wilted roses, Burn the heart. Sorry it's so late... I've been moving my house and, it is just so hectic right now. BUT I am spending the day working on chapter 3 AND 4 :3 to make up for the lateness of this chapter. Oh, and special thanks to those who left such sweet and encouraging comments! ^_^ **

**In reply to Kaitogirl95: Yes! :D I am going to tell the entire story out in detail. Down to the parts of -SECRETTALKPLZ- Shhhh... It's a secret ;P  
**

**But yes, yes. This will be the entire story including a bonus scene i will add after the entire thing is done. Its going to be a Ib and Garry scene in a cafe. o3o. Oh, im gonna get yelled at if i dont add this.  
**

**-Spoilers!- YES! this story includes spoilers on how to get the best ending.. _ Dun yell at meh.  
Anyways... Have fun reading, and don't forget to leave a review! I'll try to get back to you.**

* * *

Ib opened her eyes slowly. She coughed up a little water, inhaling sharp intakes of air. Her wet hair hung in her face, and a cold puddle was pooled around her, on green carpet. Ib looked around at the grass-green room she was in. Her clothes stuck to her pale skin, as she slowly stood up shivering.  
"I-It's f-freezing..." She muttered with her teeth clinking together. Ib looked around and took in her new surroundings. Green carpet with funny looking patterns, and two pictures hung on the wall behind her. They were the exact same picture, only with different colored backrounds. Ib had two hallways, but she decided to take the right one, wishfully thinking there would be a door or something. Ib turned the corner, and thankfully there was a door. She ignored the cold that stabbed her all over and ran over to open the door.  
"Darn it!" She began to fiercly pull on the door, but seeing that it didn't help the clinking locks one bit, she gave up. Then, an idea struck her mind.  
"There has to be a key around here somewhere, maybe in that other hallway..." Ib said her thoughts out loud, and began walking back to the hallway she had woken up on. She looked at the puddle of water on the floor and continued on into the other hallway. When she turned the corner, everything turned blue, and more painted letters were splotched on the walls. They read; "Come Ib..Come..Come" Over and over again until she came to a small table in front of a door. The table held a vase with a red rose in it. Ibs eyes went wide.  
"Hey...Isn't that the rose from that painting?! It's so much prettier in real life." She said and looked the table over. it was in the way of the door, so she tried to move it. It wouldn't budge, so she tried again from the other side. Still wouldn't move. She grunted and picked up the red rose to examine it more closely, while thinking of a way to move the table. Ib looked at the rose with wide eyes, her mind going blank for a moment. She shook her head and blinked. Something inside her made her feel as if the rose was attached to her. Ibs legs suddenly had a mind of their own, and walked forward, bumping her knees into the tables edge, scooting it sharply to the side of the door.  
"Ow!" She winced and put her hands on her hurting knee-cap, dropping the rose.  
"Hey, the table moved." She said, cheerily and bent over to pick up the rose and put it back in the vase. As soon as the stem hit the vases' cold water, it began to grow more petals, and healthier looking. Ib felt a sudden rush of energy, and life fill her bones. She looked at the now fully healthy rose and picked up back up out of the vase. She felt very connected to it and, after a lot of thinking, decided to keep it. She gently gripped the rose in her left hand and with her right hand, opened the green door in front of her. When Ib stepped inside the small room, she quickly felt closed in. She shook the feeling off and looked at a blue key on the ground in front of a painting of a women with beautiful blue locks, and a wide smile. Ib slowly bent down and picked up the blue key, looked back at the door then the painting. Her eyes went wide and she backed up a bit.  
"What the...? the picture changed!" The women in the painting was now grinning from ear to ear, with blood trailing out the side of her mouth. Ib turned, opened the door and rushed out, slamming the door behind her. She looked at the key in her hand and smiled. This had to lead to that other door. Ib walked back to the locked green door with her head high, thinking she was actually making progress. But, unfortunately, her head went low again as red letters were plastered all over the walls, replacing the blue ones.  
"Thief?" She wondered out loud. What did that mean? She continued on, even though she was a little creeped out at the red letters. It was a relief when she turned the corner and the green carpet greeted her. She hurried over to the locked door in the other hallway and jammed the key into the keyhole. She gulped and held the end of the key with her tiny hands and prayed that the key would work. She slowly turned it and heard a clicking sound, letting her know that the door was unlocked.  
"Yes!" She smiled, but quickly frowned again after feeling a rush of cold air slap her entire body. Ib suddenly remembered she was still wet; she shivered and pressed on to the next room.  
Ib was greeted by another green room. She looked around at the various paintings on one wall; A lady bug, a bee and other insects. Ib walked to the hallway on the left and looked at a sign in the middle of it. She read it aloud:  
"Beware the edges." Ib scratched her head and looked at the edges of the walls. She carefully made her way around to the middle of the hallway and began walking slowly.  
"Aaaah!" Ib screamed. She jumped back as a black hand shot from the wall and tried to grab her. She shivered and went back to the middle of the hallway. She continued walking as more hands popped out, making her shiver and wince. She gasped in relief as she met the end of the hallway. She began to continue on her way when something grabbed her arm. She looked back and screamed.  
"HaHaHAHAHAhA... I HaVe YoU nOw..." The hand spoke! Ib struggled as she was pulled towards the wall. She clawed at the hand until it let her go. She fell to the floor with a thud and crawled away from it. She shivered and her hands shook. She looked at the rose she was holding and a petal was missing from it.  
"That's funny...The flower lost a petal." Ib heaved herself up and continued on. She saw another door, and a picture of an ant next to it. She looked at the panting closely and saw it could be removed. 'Maybe i should hold onto this... I don't know why but it could come in handy.' She thought, taking the painting from the wall. She then walked over the door and began pulling on it. Locked. Once again, she needed to find a key. Ib walked down the middle of the hallway with the ant painting. She walked past the other paintings and examined them a bit. Maybe they had something for her too? None of them looked like they could be taken off the wall, or moved.  
"Hey. Down here!" Something in a high pitched voice yelled from below Ib. She looked at the ground and saw an ant. She bent over and looked at it.  
"Hello?"  
"Hi. You have my painting!" It exclaimed. Ib looked over at the painting and pointed a finger to it.  
"This one?"  
"Yes yes. May I see it?"  
Ib grabbed the painting and held it up in front of her.  
"Wow... It's just as cool as I remember..." The ant stared at the painting until Ib stood up again and put it against the wall.  
"Do you care if I use your painting?" Ib asked the ant.  
"Yes."  
"Please?"  
"No."  
"Pretty please?"  
"No."  
"Pretty please with jelly beans?"  
"Fine."  
"Thank you!" Ib grabbed the painting again and walked to examine the next hallway over. Another door, and more paintings. There were four, just like in the last hallway. The first picture was of an egg and was labeled 'Prologue'. The second one was of a caterpillar and labeled 'Chapter one'. The third was of a cocoon and labeled 'Chapter two'. The last one was of a monarch butterfly, and labeled 'End of story'. She shrugged and continued on until she came to another green door. To her luck, the door was unlocked. But, to add to her misfortune, there was a giant hole in the middle of the floor. It was too big for a nine year old to jump across. 'But...' Ib looked down at the painting she had in her hands. It was longer then the hole, so maybe she could put it down and walk across it. She let her fingers roughly poke the middle of the painting. 'It seems hard enough to walk on.' She thought, and without hesitation she put the painting over the hole as carefully as she could. Ib placed one foot on the painting and put a little weight on it. To her surprise, the painting didn't budge. She took a deep breath and walked across the painting to the other side. As soon as she was on the other side of the the hole, she looked back at the painting. Another painting that changed...The ant on the canvas was squished...Ib shrugged and continued on. She walked through the door to be met with another green room. She looked around and saw one painting on the wall, a key on the floor and one of those headless statues. Ib walked over to the key and picked it up. She held it up to her face, her tiny fingers wrapped tightly around it.  
"This must be the key to that locked door in the other hallway." She looked around once more before looked back to the headless statue. That was funny... It looked like it got closer...  
Ib took a step back, and the statue took a step forward. Her eyes went wide and she shrieked as the statue stretched out its shiny black arms and began running towards her.

"CoMe HeRe KiDdIe! GiVe Me ThAt KeY!" It said, in ragged roars of breath. Ib spun around and ran as fast as she could towards the door that let her in here, the statue close behind. She swung the door open and fled into the small room with the hole in the floor. To her luck again, the door ib swung open smacked right into the headless statue and caused it to stumble backwards for a moment. Ib shut the door close behind her. She ran across the ant painting on the floor, and shrieked. Her left foot went through the painting! She heaved herself up just as the statue had managed to open the door and get into the small room as well. Ib had no doubt that the statue could leap over the hole and grab her, so she did not hesitate to rush out the other door and slam it behind her. As soon as Ib slammed the door shut behind her, she heard crashing sounds. She shook her head and didn't want to take any chances. She ran out of that hallway as fast as her feet would allow her. She ran past the small ant, the paintings on the walls and the hands still reaching to grab her. She shoved the key into the door and unlocked it, rushed in and shut it behind her. She panted hard and looked around.  
"A... cat...?" Ib stared at the wall in front of her. It looked just like a cat! There were windows shaped like ovals on each side of some strange fish hole in the middle of the wall. The windows were white with black pupils inside them. The wall was shaped funny too. Just like a cat head. Ib shrugged and looked to her left. There was a new hallway, same for the right. She decided to go left. Ib shook her damp head and smoothed the damp wrinkles out of her skirt. She looked around the new room. There were six boxes with buttons on them. Each box had a curtain over the top, except one. The first box she saw had a stick figure on the top of it, and written in yellow letters next to the figure was:  
"Play Hide and Seek with me!"

* * *

**Hope you all enjoyed! -I didn't slap you. I high fived your face. Sideways B3-  
**


	3. Missing number

Ib slightly shuttered as the curtain over the box suddenly snapped shut. Looking around, she figured she should play with the figure. Maybe he could give her something to help figure out what she was supposed to be doing, and how she could get out of the freaky began to slowly pace up and down the rows, studying each box. They were all the same, and she had no clue into which box the little figure would be hiding. She shrugged; She'd have to guess. Walking to the end of the first row of boxes, she gently pressed down on the little yellow button drawn on the box. For a few seconds, there was a loud ticking and grinding of gears. Then, the curtains flew open;it was a painting. Not just a painting...But a very sinister one that gave Ib the chills. It was her, laying in the middle of a pool of...red whimpered and moved onto the box beside it. She pushed the button, heard the ticking and gears, and the curtain popped open. It was another painting, but this time it was of...A naked women! The painting screamed and slapped Ib hard on the cheek, sending her flying to the floor. She landed on the ground with a loud thump, bumping her head hard on one of the boxes on the second row. She yelled in pain and looked at the rose. Two petals were missing... That left only three. Gently raising her hand to her cheek, she winced. Where she touched, there was a large red mark. She pulled herself to her feet and wiped a tear off her cheek. Swallowing hard, she moved onto the second row of boxes.

Ib pressed the button on the first box in the second row. A few seconds of the ticking and grinding later, the curtains flew open. There was a painting of a music note. She blinked, and suddenly the room filling with beautiful, soothing music. It was so soothing, it felt like she was eing slowly lulled into a sleep. She shook her head quickly, throwing the thoughts of sleeping...For now. She would have to rest, sooner or later. Ib moved down to the last ox in the row; she pressed the button and a few seconds later, the curtains flew open. There was a painting of some type of blade, with a red liquid on it. As she peered closer, it suddenly came alive and slashed her across the face. She screamed, flying backwards and landing with another loud thump on the ground. Pain quickly consumed her head. She whimpered and brought up a shaky hand to her face. Gently, she traced the sore and stinging edges of a four-inch gash. It felt deep. She wanted to slap her hand on her cheek and wail, but she decided the pressure would hurt worse. Tears welled deep into her eyes, and they rolled down her pale cheeks like a river. She shakily pulled herself to her feet, and held onto the wall. Pulling out her rose, she examined it. It lost a petal. There were two left.  
Ib tried to steady herself, walking over to the third box in the second row. She pressed the button and stood back, holding her hands above her head, protecting her already torn up face. A minute passed by, and when she heard nothing, she put her arms down. As soon as her hands met her waist, a bloodied hand flew at her. She screamed and dodged to the side, causing it to slam into the wall. Quickly, she scrambled over to the first for of boxes. She ducked behind one, and heard a loud, sucking noise. She peered from the side and saw the hand peeling itself off the wall, leaving a sticky, bloody print on the wall. It spun around and flew at her again. This time, it was quicker. It slapped onto her face and caused her to fall over. She tried to scream, but it was muffled by the bloody flesh of the hand. She tried to breath, but was unsuccessful. Her chest heaved, and she began trying to claw the hand off.  
Ib's lungs' began to screech for air.

She quickly began to lose her strength, her clawing at the hand going slower and slower, until finally her arms fell to the floor. She laid there, limp. The hand finally let go of her, and vanished into thin air. Air immediately filled into her lungs, and she began to slowly blink her eyes open. Realizing she could finally take in air, she sat up quickly and started to gasp, taking in the sweet Oxygen. She gagged, choking over herself. She put her hand over her heart, feeling it thump so hard against her ribcage that she was afraid it might burst from her chest. She coughed and slowly brought out her rose. One, tiny petal to clung to the stem stubbornly. She shut her eyes, darkness ready to over-take her once more. Suddenly it ticked in her mind; "I'm badly hurt...If I go to sleep now...I might not ever wake up...I have to be more careful.." She warily opened her eyes, pulled herself to her feet and staggered over to the second row of boxes.

Ib limped to the second box on the second row; She shivered, feeling blood run down her face. Her leg felt twisted, and ached when she walked on it. The rose, by which now she has figured out that the petals on it mark her life span, had only one petal left. Her lower lip quivered, fearing she may not make it out of this puzzle or see her beloved parents again. The fear clung to her, and cloaked over her shoulders like a heavy cape. She took in a sharp breath, raised her small hand towards the box and pressed the button. The various ticking and gear grinding sounded, and then the curtains shot open. Her eyes went wide, and there in front of her stood the figure of the stick boy. The boy grinned and whispered to her, "You win. Get prize, now." With that, the curtains snapped shut once more. Suddenly, Ib heard something hard and wooden knock against the ground, just above the first row of boxes. She peeked over the side of the box in which she stood, and saw a painting on the far wall. It was of a butcher in a professional chef outfit. He held a large knife, and there was a cutting board under it with half of a fish on it. Ib brought her gaze down to the floor, and there sat the head of a wooden fish. She stared for a moment, puzzled. Shrugged, she let out a deep sigh and walked over to pick it up. Once she had it in her palms, she turned it over and over, examining it thoroughly. It was exactly the right size as the hole in the wall, in the other room with the window's shaped like cat eyes. Quickly, she staggered out of the room and into the main one. Ib limped over to the wall in the main room, and shoved the fish head into the hole. It clicked once, and Ib groaned. Of course! She needed another key. Tilting her head towards the room she hadn't been to, she sighed and began making her way to it. Once she was inside, she was taken back a bit. It was a clustered room, with sculptures of heads, and paintings, and boxes, and canvases, and paintbrushes. There were even boxes of /paint/!  
She noticed a newspaper on the ground, at the end of the row of sculptures. She limped over to it. It was blank; she arched an eyebrow, shrugged and continued on. She began to look through the boxes stacked against the wall, near the newspaper. She thought she heard a scuffling, scraping noise behind her. When she looked back, there was nothing. Shrugging, once again, she returned to looking through the boxes. The scraping noise began again, followed with the sound of a table tipping over, and then a loud crash. She spun around on her heels, wincing in pain, remembering she was injured. She huffed.

"Huh?"

Where the newspaper was, was now the pieces of a sculpture. Looking back down the row of the white clay statues, she noticed the first one missing. It must have been the scuffling and scraping she heard. There was something in the middle of the rubbish. She bent down and gently began to toss the pieces to the side, disgarding them until she saw the wooden tail of a fish. This must of been the other key! She grabbed it and lumbered onto her feet. Stepping over the shards and pieces of sculpture, she started to limp-sprint into the main room. Ib quickly limped to the wall. She shoved the key inside the keyhole, and there was a clicking noise. Suddenly, a door slid open out of nowhere, revealing the path of a narrow hallway; The ground was yellow and carpeted. It smelled musty and old, but she continued onward. She simply wanted out of that horrible room. As she walked down the corridor, she heard the sudden mewling and yowling of...cats? There wasn't any type of fur in sight, and she shook her head. The lack of sleep was definitely getting to her.  
She sighed and continued on, until she came to another room. This room...  
This room...Made Ib shiver to the bone. There was a cold, creepy aura hanging around, and the scent of death quickly rushed up to her and filling her lungs, and alarming her scent glands. She quickly slapped a hand on her nose, pinching it tight. The smell was horrid, and the atmosphere was creepy. She felt tears well in her eyes again, but not from the pain, or the scary things, but the stench. It was utterly horrible. She blinked the tears back and limped forward. Ib's crimson eyes scanned the room, still holding her nose, and noticed a small piece of paper on the floor at the beginning of a narrow hallway. She carefully staggered over and picked it up. She gulped, and let go of her nose. She'd have to get used to the stench. She held the paper in front of her face, reading aloud what it said; "Just when you've forgotten..." Forgotten what? How could she forget anything that's happened in this nightmare? Her mind continued replaying the horrifying scenes over and over again in her head.

Ib looked down the hallway and narrowed her eyes. It looked similar to the hallway she had passed before, the one where the hands tried to reach out and grab her. It was narrow enough to where she could only walk in the middle, or to the sides of it. She dropped the paper and scooted back from the hallway.  
"I-I'll come back to it l-later..." She shivered, her lower lip quivering. Shaking her head, she walked over to the left wall near the hallway. There, hung two paintings; one of them was of a face, sticking out a tongue that waved around recklessly, while the other painting was completely white. Looking a bit closer, and straining her eyes, she could make out a small number '9' in the middle of the white painting. She figured she had to remember that number for something. Ib also noticed a small desk with a book and a quill on it. As she walked over to take a better look, the painting with the face suddenly spit at her. It missed her by and inch, and she let out a disgusted yell.

The painting laughed, and continued waving it's tongue around. She scowled and looked down at the book with the quill. The quill sat in a small bottle of ink, and the book was splattered with red liquid. She backed up, afraid to be by it anymore. Sighing, she walked over to the right side of where the narrow hallway was. As she walked, she noticed yellow lettering on the wall. She read aloud; "BEWARE OF LIPS." Ib was puzzled. She continued walking along the wall, until she came to a small the middle of the gap were painted on lips. She shivered and backed up. The lips suddenly became away of Ib, and began to moan; "Hungry...Give food!" Quickly, she speed-walked away from the lips and back to face the narrow hallway. She would have to cross it, now. There was nowhere else to go but forward. She took in a large breath, held it, and limp-sprinted down the middle of the hallway. Until she reached the end, nothing had popped out of her. As soon as she set foot at the end of the hallway, a short arm shot out of the wall and began grabbing for her. She jumped out of the hallway, her heart beating hard against her chest. She shook off the wariness tugging tightly at her shoulders. She sighed and looked around. To her left, there was a yellow door with yellow lettering splattered next to it.

To Ib's right, there were various dolls hanging from the ceiling by long, red rope. Past the dolls, there was another yellow door. It was a bit larger than the other door on the left, and it read; "Exit" on it in big, bulgy letters. Her eyes went wide, and she pushed past the dolls to the door. She threw her hands on handle and tugged at it. There was a faint clinking sound, alerting Ib that the door was locked. She frowned and thumped her head on the door. She looked back over to the left, and the smaller yellow door with the lettering by it. She sighed, and staggered over to it. As she was pushing past the dolls again, she suddenly felt something land on her head. She screamed and fell to the floor kicking, whatever it was that landed on her, to the wall. It was a doll, and it thumped against the wall and back to the floor. She took in sharp breaths, then stood up and went to pick the doll back up. She examined it, noticing a small letter stuck to it. It was the number '4'.

Looking over her shoulder at the door, she examined it more closely this time; There was a small keypad on it, with numbers on it as well. '000'. Next to the padlock was a green 'X', a white multiplication sign, a pink 'X', a white addition sign, and finally a purple 'X'. She thought for a moment...  
The number in the middle of the painting was pink...That would replace the pink 'X' in the equation in front of her. The number on the doll was purple. That would replace the purple 'X'. She was missing a number.


End file.
